Pole base providing adjustability for angular axial alignment of the pole

ABSTRACT

An arrangement for providing an angular adjustment of the vertical axis of a post relative to a foundation block in which the post is mounted includes an annular guiding retaining means, having a convex surface for making a line contact with the post, carried in an upper end of the foundation block together with a plurality of jaw means for effecting lateral adjustment of the lower end of the post within the foundation block.

I United States Patent 1 13,579,936

[72] lnventors Gustav Mattias Andersson [56] References Cited Barnhemsgatan 10, 731 00 p g; UNITED STATES PATENTS f 'gg 1,095,197 5/1914 Entenmann 52/297 1,463,715 7/1923 Muhlow 52/297 [2 P N9 827,416 2,784,015 3/1957 Swanson 52/298 [22] Filed May 23, 1969 N T T [45] Patented May 25, 1971 FOREIG PA EN S [73] Assignee Said Granstrom assignor to said Andersson 191,231 9/ 1964 Sweden 52/296 [32] Pnomy May 1968 Primary ExaminerFrank L. Abbott [33] Sweden Assistant Examiner-James L. Ridgill, Jr. [31] 7188/68 Arrorney-Cushman, Darby & Cushman [54] POLE BASE PROVIDING ADJUSTABILITY FOR ANGULAR AXIAL ALIGNMENT OF THE POLE 4 Clams 2 Drawing Flgs' ABSTRACT: An arrangement for providing an angular adjust- [52] US. Cl 52/297, ment of the vertical axis of a post relative to a foundation 52/726, 287/1 19 block in which the post is mounted includes an annular guid- [51] Int. Cl E02d 27/4 ing retaining means, having a convex surface for making a line F16b 2/14 contact with the post, carried in an upper end of the founda- [50] Field of Search 287/ l 19, tion block together with a plurality of jaw means for effecting lateral adjustment of the lower end of the post within the foundation block.

PATENTEI] HAYZS IBYI FIG-.1

POLE EASE iraovinihcnnnls'rnnnrrv iron ANGULAR nxrar. AUGNMENT or ran; POLE The present invention relates to an arrangement for adjusting the vertical alignment of a lamp post or the like which is guided in a hole disposed in a concrete foundation block, the post having a guiding retaining means mounted at the upper end of the foundation block which suitably comprises an annular wedge member capable of being driven in between the post and the block and the inside of which member facing the post is suitably convex in axial section, and wherein the lower end of the post can be positioned laterally by means of jaws capable of being moved vertically by means of rods actuatable from the top of the concrete foundation block.

In the case of known arrangements, in which the lower end of the post extending into the block can be moved laterally by means of jaws to adjust the vertical alignment of the post, the lower end of the post rests on the jaws, namely on oblique surfaces disposed thereon. This arrangement can cause certain disadvantages, partly because relatively large vertical movement of the post' can occur when the post is to be adjusted from a relatively'pronounced tilted position to a vertical position, this movement causing difficulties with regard to the guiding and retaining means positioned at the upper end of the post, and partly because thelower portion of the post is not fixed in position and may tend to turn about its longitudinal axis without meeting any form of resistance at the lower end thereof, wherewith the tende'ricy-of the post to turn about its long axis is counteracted solely by the upper guide means in the foundation blocleand then only to an unsatisfactory extent.

The aforementioned disadvantages areeliminated by means of the present invention in that the jaws are adapted to bear against the side surface of the post, and are guided at their radially outer side by an obliquely downwardly and outwardly directed guide surface in the foundation block. By this arrangement, the lower edge of the post can be permitted to rest against a fixed support surface in the. block and the post becomes positively locked against rotation about its longitudinal axis. in the case of lamp posts for example, such rotation can give rise to serious disadvantages. Such posts, which are often metres high, are provided at the top thereof with a radially outwardly'projcting arm which is exposed to the effects of the windand carries the light fittings, which are provided with precise reflection surfaces. The exactness to which the road etc. is illuminated by the lamp is lost even when the post, and thus also the lamp, is rotated only slightly. in the arrangement of the present invention, such rotation of the post is effectively prevented by firmly applying the jaws positioned at the lower end of the post against the side surface of said post, using a wedging foice.

The jaw guide'surface suitably comprises a conical metal ring cast in the concrete and connected with a bottom plate, against which the loweiendof the post may support. This enables the guide surfaces tol precision made, and affords certain advantages with regard to the work of casting.

The invention will now described in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which HO. 1 is a cutaway sectioned view of a concrete post foundation block providedwith arrangements according to the invention, and- 1 FIG. 2 is a plan View of thejaws.

In the drawing there is illustrated a foundation block I, made for instance ofreinforced concrete and which may be sunk into the ground to the level indicated at A. The reference numeral 2 in the drawing indentifies the lower portion of a post made of tubular steel. Disposed in the foundation block is a vertical hole 3, at the-upper end of which is arranged an annular metallicflining o'rfbushing 4, said lining or bushing being cast in the block and suitably aiso connected with the reinforcing means thereof. inserted between the liniitg 4 and the post is a wedge body which is suitably made of steel. The wedge body, which is suitably slotted'in a vertical directiompresents to the post an inner surface 6 which in axial section is convex in shape so that the wedge body bears against the post in substantially line contact in the direction of the periphery.

The wedge body is throughpassed by a number of holes, e.g. three, which accommodate throughpassing rods 7 which are threaded at the top thereof to receive nuts 8. Each rod is connected at its bottom with a jaw 9 presenting a radially outer abutment surface 10 which cooperates with a guide surface 11 disposed in the foundation block and inclined downwardly and outwardly. This surface is suitably formed of a conical metal ring cast in the block and connected at its bottom with a plate 12 which forms a support for the lower end of the post 2. The radial inner surface of the jaws is essentially cylindrical in shape so that it conforms to the side surface of the post.

When erecting the post, it is passed through the hole 3 until it rests on the plate 12. The previously mounted rods 7 are passed through the holes in the wedge body, whereupon the.

latter is then driven down to guide the post at the upper side of the foundation block. When aligning the post, it can be adjusted in a vertical line which may optionally build an angle to the long means line of the block buried in the ground by longitudinally moving the different rods 7 with associated jaws vertically and in relation to each other, this being achieved by varying the force applied by the nuts 8 against the upper sur face of the wedge body. The relatively small distance, in relation to the height of the post, between the jaws and the wedge body 5 means that the post moves only slightly in the wedge body, even when appreciable lateral adjustment is made to the lower portion of the post, and because the wedge body bears against the post in a circular contact line, movement between post and wedge body is the least conceivable. Tightening of the nuts, i.e. vertical movement of the rods 7 and the jaws 9, causes the lower portion of the post to be moved laterally simultaneously as the jaws are moved to grip said bottom portion of the post.

In the shown example, the radial outer surface of the. jaws is inclined in the same manner as the guide surface 11 in the foundation block and thus bears thereagainst along a wide surface. it is, however, possible while obtaining the same effect to use only an approximate line contact between the guide surface and the jaw, which need not then have a tapering outer surface. Therods 7 can be moved in a manner different to that described. They can, for instance, be threaded at the bottom thereof and screwed into respective jaws 9 which are then moved vertically by turning the rods which can be effected at ground level, while supported against the upper surface of the wedge body. Alternatively, in certain instances it may be suitable to pass the rod 7 through a hole disposed in the jaw with a diameter larger than that of the rod and to provide the rod with a shoulder which carries the jaw when the rod is moved upwards. This is equivalent to a pivotal connection between rod and jaw.

In the exemplary embodiment the wedge body bears directly against the post with an inwardly curved surface. The. invention, however, is not restricted hereto, but that the wedge body may be adapted to bear against the post with a cylindrical surface and the curvature which causes the line contact may instead be arranged on the outside of the wedge body and/or on the cooperating lining 4.

We claim:

1. An arrangement for adjusting vertical alignment of a lamp post or the like comprising the combination of:

a foundation block having a' vertically disposed opening formed therein for receiving an end of said post, saidopening being of a larger diameter than the diameter of the portion of the post which is received within said block,

a guiding retaining means mounted at the upper end of said block, said guiding retaining means being in the form of an annular wedge block capable of being driven in between the post and the block when the end of the post is received into the block, said annular wedge block having an inner circumferential surface which is generally convex in axial section so that said annular wedge block.

bears against the post in substantially a line contact, thereby permitting an angular adjustment of the vertical axis of said post relative to said foundation block, and

a plurality of jaw means for adjusting the lateral positioning of the lower end of said post to effect a change in vertical alignment of the post, said jaw means being positioned within the opening formed in said foundation block so as to bear against the outside surface of said lower end of the post, and including separate rod means actuatable from the top of said foundation block to vertically adjust the positions of each of said jaw means within the foundation block, said jaw means being guided at their radially outer sides by a guide surface formed in said foundation block on an incline which is directed obliquely downwardly and outwardly to thereby cause a lateral movement of a jaw means when said jaw means is vertically adjusted by its associated rod means.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the jaw means present an abutment surface similar to and cooperating with the inclined guide surface of the foundation block.

3. The arrangement of claim 1 characterized in that the side of each jaw means facing the post has substantially the same shape as the cylindrical surface of the post.

4. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the guide surface for the jaws comprises a conical metal ring cast in said foundation block and connected with a bottom plate, against which the bottom of the post can be supported. 

1. An arrangement for adjusting vertical alignment of a lamp post or the like comprising the combination of: a foundation block having a vertically disposed opening formed therein for receiving an end of said post, said opening being of a larger diameter than the diameter of the portion of the post which is received within said block, a guiding retaining means mounted at the upper end of said block, said guiding retaining means being in the form of an annular wedge block capable of being driven in between the post and the block when the end of the post is received into the block, said annular wedge block having an inner circumferential surface which is generally convex in axial section so that said annular wedge block bears against the post in substantially a line contact, thereby permitting an angular adjustment of the vertical axis of said post relative to said foundation block, and a plurality of jaw means for adjusting the lateral positioning of the lower end of said post to effect a change in vertical alignment of the post, said jaw means being positioned within the opening formed in said foundation block so as to bear against the outside surface of said lower end of the post, and including separate rod means actuatable from the top of said foundation block to vertically adjust the positions of each of said jaw means within the foundation block, said jaw means being guided at their radially outer sides by a guide surface formed in said foundation block on an incline which is directed obliquely downwardly and outwardly to thereby cause a lateral movement of a jaw means when said jaw means is vertically adjusted by its associated rod means.
 2. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the jaw means present an abutment surface similar to and cooperating with the inclined guide surface of the foundation block.
 3. The arrangement of claim 1 characterized in that the side of each jaw means facing the post has substantially the same shape as the cylindrical surface of the post.
 4. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the guide surface for the jaws comprises a conical metal ring cast in said foundation block and connected with a bottom plate, against which the bottom of the post can be supported. 